Every person, every man, woman and child, is born a sinner. Our propensity towards sin is second-nature, we don't have to be trained to sin, we sin because we are selfish, prideful, unholy and unrighteous (and self-righteous).
In order to stand before a Holy God, man needed a Saviour: a person who was able to Redeem man and bring him back into right relationship with God.
Since man was unable to save himself; God interceded on man's behalf, and set in motion a plan to save man. This plan is The Gospel - the Good News.
The Plan: God chose to be born a man (in the personage of Jesus Christ), to live amongst us, to know our weaknesses, to know our desires, but yet not to succumb to our weakness. And to OFFER HIMSELF on the Cross to shed His blood and die on our behalf.
The Goal: To offer the gift of Salvation (i.e. that God did everything required to obtain Salvation for man) to those who would accept Him and His Lordship over their lives.
Romans 10:9-13 (NKJ)
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NKJ)
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
The Requirements
To accept God's offer of Salvation is easy, but it is also demanding. In order to accept God's offer you must:
- Believe that God exists, and that there is ONLY ONE TRUE GOD, the God of the Bible.
- Believe that God is the rewarder (the offerer of Salvation) of those who diligently seek Him.
- Believe that there is NO OTHER MEANS (plans, roads or processes) BY WHICH you can be saved.
- Believe that it is through the name, and the personage, of Jesus Christ (i.e. in Hebrew 'Yeshua the Messiah') that you MUST be saved.
- Genuinely Repent (i.e. turn from and renounce) of your SINS - your unholy, unrighteous thoughts, words and actions.
- Genuinely Turn from any and all lifestyles which are contrary to the Word of God.
If you can accept and do these things then God WILL accept you.
The Prayer (from 'Becoming a Christian' by John Stott)
Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly acknowledge that I have sinned in my thinking and speaking and acting, that I am guilty
of deliberate wrongdoing, and that my sins have separated me from your holy presence, and that I am helpless to commend
myself to you.
I firmly believe that you did die on the cross for my sins, bearing them in your own body and suffering in my place the
condemnation they deserved.
I have thoughtfully counted the cost of following you. I sincerely repent, turning away from my past sins. I am willing to
surrender to you as my Lord and Master. Help me not to be ashamed of you.
So now I come to you. I believe that for a long time you have been patiently standing outside the door knocking. I now open
the door. Come in, Lord Jesus, and be my Saviour and my Lord for ever. Amen.
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